


Wrong Choices, Right Reasons

by RobinsonsWereHere



Category: Psych
Genre: (8x06 compliant but not beyond), Angst, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Episode: s08e06 1967: A Psych Odyssey, Romance, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-15 00:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21024419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsonsWereHere/pseuds/RobinsonsWereHere
Summary: Or, how Juliet O'Hara gets it all wrong, and breaks two hearts in the process.(Post 8x06, Shawn hurries to San Francisco with a plea and an engagement ring. Juliet worries he's  rushing into decisions he'll regret later.)





	Wrong Choices, Right Reasons

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Just watched 8x06 and I'm crying rn. It's late and this isn't proofread but maybe you'll cry too :)

When Shawn wakes up alone at 9 am, as opposed to with Jules at 4:30 am, it takes him fifteen minutes to get on his bike headed north. He spends five minutes dialing Juliet, and doesn’t even get a message- her phone must be off. During a minute-long breakdown, he manages to get dressed. The remaining nine minutes are spent freaking out over the phone to Gus.

“I gotta get to ‘Frisco.”

_”Shawn, if Juliet left, she probably doesn’t want you to follow her.”_

Shawn winces at the verbalization of the thought that’s been haunting him since the first failed call to Jules. “But why? Did I do something? Did I say something?”

_”I don’t know, did you?”_

Even to himself, Shawn sounds miserable. “I don’t think so…”

_”Then I don’t know how to help you, Shawn. This sucks. I’m sorry.”_

Now there’s only one thing Shawn can see to do. He takes a deep breath. “Don’t be, buddy. Keep your phone on, will you?”

He hangs up on Gus’ ‘of course’ and heads straight for the garage. He only grabs one thing on his way out.

\---

Normally, Shawn loves the quietude of long rides on him motorcycle. But today, he can only worry. _I thought we were done with the confusion and the misunderstandings and the sleeping apart after I told her my secret. Especially the sleeping apart._ The coastline is pretty, but every glimpse of the blue ocean Shawn catches only makes him miss Juliet’s blue eyes. _Did I do something wrong? Did I push her away?_ He thinks back to when she’d made him watch Legally Blonde. _Does she need someone more serious and put together to be her boyfriend, if she’s the head detective?_

Shawn Spencer is completely and utterly lost and confused. The only thing he knows for sure right now is that he loves and he misses his girlfriend.

\---

Juliet is carrying a box of pictures- her old cats, her and Carlton, her and Shawn, et cetera- to her desk. She’s been unpacking all day, with frequent intermissions for actual crime-solving. It’s now two-thirty in the afternoon, and on her umpteenth trip through the lobby, her feet are killing her.

(Her heart is damn near broken, too, but at least thinking about her stupid heels doesn’t make her want to cry.)

Rounding a corner, she reflects on the similarity of this station to Santa Barbara. There are lots of columns, the same style of tile with the emblem in the center, Shawn pouting on a bench-

_Wait, what?_

Juliet whirls, twists her ankle, almost drops her box, and nearly crashes into a pillar. “Shawn!?”

“Jules!” He brightens immediately, bounding over to her. “The reception girl doesn’t know me here. It’s weird. How’s your first day on the job? Did you forget anything in Santa Barbara? I know you forgot something.” He gestures to himself.

“Shawn, I didn’t forget-” Juliet catches herself, taking a breath. “You know what? No. We’re not doing this here. I am Head Detective, I have important things to be doing. I’m a professional, so I’m going to act like one. No personal conversations while I’m on the clock.”

Shawn’s face falls, but he quickly covers it with a lopsided grin. “So I guess you don’t want to find the supply closets? See if the shelves are a sittable height?”

Juliet sighs and rolls her eyes. “Absolutely not. Now, I get off in two and a half hours. There is a nice restaurant called Beretta a few blocks away. I will meet you there at five after five.”

Shawn’s grin fades; Juliet almost winces at the stubbornness in his eyes.

“You said you’d wake me up at 4:30, too, and yet here we are.”

Okay. She deserves that.

“Then stay on that bench until five, I don’t care! But I have a job to do. I can’t talk right now.”

She turns quickly, at the expense of her ankle. But if she’d looked him in the eye for another minute, she would not have been able to turn away at all.

\---

Shawn holds Juliet’s hand for the walk to the restaurant, relieved that she lets him. He’s not quite sure where they stand; she doesn’t seem happy that he’d show up unannounced. In his defense, he’d tried to announce himself, but her phone was off.

After they’re seated at an outdoor patio, Juliet finally faces him, chewing her lip. “Shawn, what-”

“Jules, I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he interrupts. “I may not have been expecting San Francisco, but regardless, I don’t want to leave you. Ever. We’ve been through a lot to make it this far, and I’m not letting something that should be _good_ for both of us bring us down. I’m here for you, Juliet, always. I never wanna give you up. Or let you down.” 

She raises an eyebrow. “Or run around and hurt me?”

Shawn drops to one knee, pulling the ring from his pocket. “Exactly. See? You complete me.”

Juliet makes a choking noise. Her eyes go wide, and her face goes pale. Shawn briefly worries she’s going to pass out.

“Shawn-” she seems to be struggling for words. “Shawn, what are you _doing?”_

“I’m proposing, Jules. I think that’s kind of obvious.”

She continues to look horrified, and Shawn’s not sure, but he doesn’t think that’s the right emotion. Then, slowly, she shakes her head.

“No. No. I can’t say yes, Shawn, not right now.”

He feels like the wind’s been knocked out of him. “What?”

“I’m afraid you’re rushing into this, Shawn, you have to admit, this all seems really impulsive-”

“Jules, you’ve known me for eight years! I’m an impulsive person!”

“Shawn-” she stops, and swallows. Shawn sees a tear roll down her cheek. “I’m sorry, Shawn. I’m not going to say yes tonight. I think you should go home.”

She walks away, clearly crying. Shawn feels his heart break.

_Please, no. What did I do wrong?_

Miserably, he stands, noticing the waiter beside him for the first time. The man looks supremely uncomfortable, but just tucks his pad of orders back into his belt. “Uh. That sucks, man.”

Shawn raises an eyebrow. “You think?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Maybe leave a comment or kudos? Or come find me at trixiesfranklin on tumblr!


End file.
